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I have used one of these at deer camp for several years. Drilled 3/8" holes in the uprights every 3", and use 60p nails through the holes to set the height of the suspension, which passes around each upright and clips to the opposing suspension somewhere in the middle.

The stand is heavy and expensive (I used 1.25" pipe), but gets the job done. I personally believe the turtledog stand is a better choice for most people in most situations.

The stand is heavy and expensive (I used 1.25" pipe), but gets the job done. I personally believe the turtledog stand is a better choice for most people in most situations.

The TurtleDog stand is great and popular, but I'm curious to know your reasoning. Is it better because it is less expensive? Easier to construct and find parts? More packable and portable? More stable? I suppose it would be easy to say, "all of the above," but I'm curious to what people think. While I like inexpensive, I was very pleased with the pipe stand in its ability to let me set up a hammock and tarp without compromising any of the gear (e.g., the span was long enough, high enough, and stable enough, without any entangling, etc.).

The TurtleDog stand is next on my list to try, and if there are no objections, I may even illustrate instructions, but I'd like to try it first and understand it better.

I've tried so many stands, and built some too, including the tensegrity stand. Each has pros/cons.

I'm coining a name for this pipe stand -- the SpeerJack stand? Anyway, I was skeptical at first, but amazed with the overall effect: strong, sturdy, very car packable and portable, plus it works great with tarps (great head room, pitch room, and ridge line room). A lot of other stands work great with a hammock, but leave somewhat to be desired when you want to pitch a tarp on it too.

I also like simple, and cost-effective. I won't argue that the pipe stand isn't cheap. It aint. At least, compared with other standsI've built. But it's pretty bomb proof and no fiddle factor.

I have the turtledog stand and it is lighter and much less expensive to make. I think I spent $45 total and price does matter a lot to me. I like the stand a lot too. I use the angled edge method instead of the spreader string. This stand does seem more packable though. The turtledog stand barely fits in the back of my Honda Element with the back seats up. If I cut it in half and hung much lower to the ground then it would be more portable, but right now it's a little bit of a pain to put in a car.

As a pipe person who makes a living with pipe I can tell you that right now 1" black pipe is about $30 a 21' joint locally... I don't know about the fittings as we weld most of our stuff and this is threaded stuff... You will pay quite a bit to buy the short pieces pre-cut... It would probably be better to buy the joints and pay a guy to cut and thread which takes less than 5 minutes a joint with the right machine and 10-15 minutes if you do it by hand... The $200 price tag comes in at a bit high... But local costs can be varied apparently... But anyways if you know of a metal shop in town you might talk to them about cutting the pipe and getting the pipe for you and I bet you can.come well under the $150 price range... I love steel because very rarely does it just fail it will stretch and deformed giving you a heads up before failure while too often I have seen wood just snap with very little warning... In this setup I think you could just run the tarp over the steel bar on top and have enough room to stand up and then if rain comes in just tarp it down to the bottom straps nice and tight and tall... But that is yet to be confirmed... I like this design better than the turtle dog because I know steel and it doesn't have knots to worry about... Doesn't warp... It's just more consistent I guess... But hang your own hang I guess...

Some things to consider: first, the TD is going to have a larger footprint than the SpeerJack. I use the SJ inside a small wall tent, where space is at a premium. I'm using an area 8.5'x<3' (I cut the "feet" back to make it hug a wall...still stable).

Second, if you're willing to spend the money, all of the pipe sections can be cut down, threaded, and joined with threaded couplings, making the SJ more compact.

If portability is not an issue, any marginally competent welder can throw one of these together for what I'm guessing would be half the cost.